Gamage lathe

[packrat]

Your lathe looks somewhat like a Myford lathe, {your lathe much smaller} tool holder and tailstock similar, you may be able to get some ideas from
looking at a Myford ML7 and how they are engineered.?? I am thinking about your tool post set up?

 

[ricuponwye]

Your lathe looks somewhat like a Myford lathe, {your lathe much smaller} tool holder and tailstock similar, you may be able to get some ideas from
looking at a Myford ML7 and how they are engineered.?? I am thinking about you tool post set up?

Thanks packrat, I'm checking it out today.

 

[trlvn]

Hi, I live about 20 miles upriver from you and have a well equiped workshop, if you don't have any other help closer to you your welcome to come over and we'll get your lathe up and working.

Roger

That is an amazing offer, Roger. Thanks...
If you send me your details I'll come and visit with my bits 'n' pieces! [email protected] (Ric)

Are you both referring to south-western Ontario? I briefly dated a girl from Chepstow, ON back in the mists of time. My hometown is Lucknow, ON.

Craig

 

[ricuponwye]

Are you both referring to south-western Ontario? I briefly dated a girl from Chepstow, ON back in the mists of time. My hometown is Lucknow, ON.

Craig

This is Chepstow in South Wales, UK. I didn't know there was a Chepstow in ON. as well. I have been to Ontario through!

 

[abby]

As already stated you can get accuracy out of most machines but to be honest for clock or instrument making you will want something a little better.
You are almost certainly going to need a collet accepting lathe for clock making (I almost wrote for clockwork). One to lookout for is the Pultra 1750 , there's usually more than one on Ebay although often at silly money, but lets face it you get what you pay for.
You can get some bargains if you are prepared to do some refurbishing. This is mine and although I have a Boxford "A" I wouldn't be without this little beauty , and you can wheel it ito the kitchen when it's too cold in the workshop. These lathes are rigid enough to remove 1/2 a thou " with good tooling.

​

Getting what you have into a useable state will be a useful exercise and I think Gamage type lathes are getting quite rare now , a few years ago they were fairly common , often with cracked or broken headstock bearings , I had one which I Sifbronzed and re-machined by hand , off the tailstock.
Anyway best of luck and just ask if you need anything.
Dan.

 

[ricuponwye]

As already stated you can get accuracy out of most machines but to be honest for clock or instrument making you will want something a little better.
You are almost certainly going to need a collet accepting lathe for clock making (I almost wrote for clockwork). One to lookout for is the Pultra 1750 , there's usually more than one on Ebay although often at silly money, but lets face it you get what you pay for.
You can get some bargains if you are prepared to do some refurbishing. This is mine and although I have a Boxford "A" I wouldn't be without this little beauty , and you can wheel it ito the kitchen when it's too cold in the workshop. These lathes are rigid enough to remove 1/2 a thou " with good tooling.

​

Getting what you have into a useable state will be a useful exercise and I think Gamage type lathes are getting quite rare now , a few years ago they were fairly common , often with cracked or broken headstock bearings , I had one which I Sifbronzed and re-machined by hand , off the tailstock.
Anyway best of luck and just ask if you need anything.
Dan.

thanks abby... a winter of research ahead and putting things into action when warmer weather arrives...

 

[packrat]

Yes, I think you are so right about a collet accepting lathe for clock repair, I put a ER32 collet set up on my Myford lathe that worked out good, not that I do any clock making work on that lathe, my eyes are not that good....

 

[Mike Ginn]

Hi ricuponwye, I have been following the posts and at the start of my modelling I was in a similar position to you. From experience I would do the following:-
Refurb the lathe if you can. I say that because I have the impression that you don't have access to other machine tools and although other members have very kindly offered to help, I suggest that is not a viable way forward given the amount of work needed. So the Gamages lathe is probably a longer term project but worthwhile.
If you are looking to dive into clock making then this lathe is probably not the way to start. You would/must have a collet system and some means to cut the cogs by milling. Again this could be achieved on a lathe with suitable accessories. There are many books about clock making/repairing and the pictures would give you a good insight into the tools and type of lathe needed.

I really wish you every success and please accept this post as a guide to the short term and longer term way forward - as per my experience!.

Mike

 

[ricuponwye]

Hi ricuponwye, I have been following the posts and at the start of my modelling I was in a similar position to you. From experience I would do the following:-
Refurb the lathe if you can. I say that because I have the impression that you don't have access to other machine tools and although other members have very kindly offered to help, I suggest that is not a viable way forward given the amount of work needed. So the Gamages lathe is probably a longer term project but worthwhile.
If you are looking to dive into clock making then this lathe is probably not the way to start. You would/must have a collet system and some means to cut the cogs by milling. Again this could be achieved on a lathe with suitable accessories. There are many books about clock making/repairing and the pictures would give you a good insight into the tools and type of lathe needed.

I really wish you every success and please accept this post as a guide to the short term and longer term way forward - as per my experience!.

Mike

Thank you Mike.
I have been 'repairing' clocks for a few years but never tried to turn my own parts before, so this is a new venture.

I see the Gamage lathe project as a separate adventure. I always loved wood lathes and when I saw Steve Fleming doing his thing with his mini metal lathe on the Repair Shop and making it all look so easy, I thought "I could do that!"

I knew it would be a bottomless time pit, and starting off at 69 leaves me quite a small margin of time to learn stuff. So I see this as an ever-growing, but never-completed hobby.

This forum has given me a huge sense of support with all the advice, and I have now found a local engineer and ex-toolmaker around the corner who has a nice workshop and has agreed to help me get started.

I'll keep posting pics as the lathe gets renovated.

Thanks - Ric

 

[clockworkcheval]

Hi Ric, don't despair because of age. I'm 76 and still do horological work, but mostly tooling. My only preparation for the future is that I have trained my grandchildren aged 12 thru 17 to understand and use all my equipment. I have three lathes, a Schaublin 102 VM of about 70 years old which is a good match for my age, a Myford Super Seven of about 40 - 50 years old which I recently got from a good friend's estate and a TAIG lathe which I purchased three years ago. When my wife asks for the use of all machines I try to explain that that is the wrong question. In the UK I believe the TAIG is sold as PEATOL. My TAIG came with an ER16 collet holder in the hardened spindle. Combined with German TOPAC top accuracy collets with a run-out of some microns this is a very precise machine. I have motorized it with a 0,3 KW DC motor with electronic speed control which gives revs from 10 to 10.000. For most horological work the TAIG is now my favorite machine. The cost was roughly $ 250,- for the basic machine, $ 250,- for the accessories like chucks and live centre and $ 250,- for the TOPAC collet set.

 

[ricuponwye]

Hi clockworkcheval,

Horsing around with mechanics is something I always loved - so I like your username! Thanks for the age-positive support.
I see you also repair wooden clock cases from the tools in the workshop. I like renovating clock cases too, and recently had the opportunity to repair an 18 century Vienna Regulator which was a joy to be involved with.
That TAIG looks very nice. I will be looking our for something like this for my next lathe.

Thanks

Ric

 

[ShopShoe]

ricuponwye,

Since I believe you said you are in the UK, here is the link for PEATOL:

http://www.jeffree.co.uk/peatol.html
The TAIG link (from the US) is:

https://taigtools.com
To round out this post, Sherline:

https://www.sherline.com
--

Standard disclaimer: I have no connections to any of these companies other than customer or potential customer.

--ShopShoe

 

[Charles Lamont]

Deleted

 

[ricuponwye]

Are you both referring to south-western Ontario? I briefly dated a girl from Chepstow, ON back in the mists of time. My hometown is Lucknow, ON.

Craig

Hi Roger, Good to catch up at your well-equipped workshop. Thanks for the help with getting me started in the right direction, and saving me hours of cul-de-sacs. Catch you soon!

 

[clockworkcheval]

Hi Rick, thank you for the good words. The woodworking tools are as a matter of fact for the home-wind turbine classes that my son runs. He is a professional mechanical engineer from the same Technical University of Delft where his father, grandfather, great grandfather and great-great grandfather took their degrees. He works for Siemens Gamesa Wind Turbine Generators and in his free time engages in building smaller wind turbine generators to the very effective low-tech design of Hugh Piggott of Scotland. He runs workshops from our home for trainers that go to developing countries outside the grid in Africa and South America. We have divided the workshops in a closed and heated mechanical shop of 40 m2 and a wood cum construction area of 55 m2. We are priming his daughter of 4 to acquire maximum interest in practical mechanics.